Help Me With the Math...

Joshacham
Joshacham Posts: 467 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to do the math here and wonder if I should bother or just keep it at as. Turkey stuffing, delicious stuff, I like to have it as a side to my dinner sometimes. There are 12 servings in a box and sometimes I want to eat the whole box, but that's neither here nor there, and a serving of the dry mix is 110 calories (1320 a whole box). A serving of the mix prepared according to the box is 170 calories (2040 a whole box). I'm wondering if I could cut some of those calories out by the butter I'm using. They say use regular butter which is 100 calories per tablespoon, the recipe asks for 4 tablespoons which is optional. That's 400 calories. If I use margarine, that's 50 calories per tablespoon and equals 200 calories. So if I do the math, 2040-200=1840. Divide that by 12... 154 calories. Am I right? Should I shoot for it or am I just making things needlessly complicated?

Replies

  • Deadlay
    Deadlay Posts: 135 Member
    If you're trying to free up 16 calories per serving you're making it needlessly complicated.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    16 calories isn't a huge deal if you're eating 1 serving. But if you do eat the whole box, that's a 200 calorie difference and it's pretty significant.

    You're math is totally correct. You could also use the recipe feature to input the raw ingredients and see what happens to the per serving calorie count when you tweak ingredients. That would be more helpful in something with more than 2 ingredients. :)
  • OnionCookie
    OnionCookie Posts: 272 Member
    I don't even use butter. It tastes just as good without.
  • MexicanOsmosis
    MexicanOsmosis Posts: 382 Member
    If you're trying to free up 16 calories per serving you're making it needlessly complicated.

    QFT
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Mmm stuffing...wait what?
  • caveninit
    caveninit Posts: 153 Member
    I would just halve the butter content ..I have made many of those stuffing mixes with half the amount of butter and it always turns out perfect.
  • Joshacham
    Joshacham Posts: 467 Member
    I'm not hurting too badly to save those 16 calories. I know those who are cut down to 1,000 calories a day could scrimp and save every where they could. Just wondering. Thanks guys
  • train_01
    train_01 Posts: 135 Member
    If you need the added butter or marg. to make it taste the way you like, go with the butter. It's so much richer that you could use 1/2 or 1/4 and it would taste better than the whole amount of margarine. Besides, I think margarine is yucky. I'm pro-butter til the day I die!
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    It's 153 (rounded correctly), you're saving 17 calories.

    I would rather eliminate half the butter and save the same amount of calories.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Your math is right.

    But, just for me personally, I'd MUCH rather eat ALL teh butter than save 16-17 (or even 200) calories by eating margarine. I'm definitely not over the top gung-ho on natural/clean/whatever you want to call it eating (as I sit here, Diet Coke in hand), but margarine is just nasty.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I wouldn't cut any ingredient, but if I was going to, I would use 1/2 the butter rather than the same amount of fake butter.
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
    Cutting out calories that aren't making a big difference in taste is one of those things that "naturally thin" women do all of the time. Yes, cut the butter in half, or even cut it out. Cutting just 100 calories a day adds up to about ten pounds in a year. Another trick is to add just a small amount of butter or salt, after the food is cooked, rather than in the recipe, so that you can taste it better. If do this with mashed potatoes. Think butter on toast vs butter baked into bread and then toasted.

Categories